Olivier Giroud celebrates on his knees as his team-mates join him after putting Chelsea 3-2 ahead at Southampton.
Photograph: Dave Shopland/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock

Southampton are running out of time to escape the siren call of the Championship and they did themselves few favours here, throwing away a two-goal lead in eight second-half minutes to hand victory to Chelsea.

That was not the whole story. Southampton deserved their lead after a brave first-half performance. Chelsea, meanwhile, had reeked of the malaise that has afflicted them ever since it became apparent Antonio Conte is unlikely be their manager after the end of this season. A classic tactical switch by the Italian, however, turned the game on its head. Saints are now five points from safety with only five games left to play.

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Dusan Tadic opened the scoring, turning home from 10 yards after a determined run from Ryan Bertrand. The centre-half Jan Bednarek, making his first start for Southampton, doubled the advantage when he volleyed home a free kick on the hour. Conte reacted immediately to the setback, however, and a double substitution, alongside a switch to a less-favoured back four, led to Chelsea swamping their opponents. Olivier Giroud sprang from the bench to score a double, with Eden Hazard thumping home the other. St Mary’s was left stunned, bar the section of Chelsea fans delighting in the proceedings.

Conte actively took responsibility for the failings of his side. “I must be honest, I was very angry for our first half because we didn’t show the will to play in the right way,” he said. “I am coach of this team and if we are not in the right way I’m the first person to take responsibility. For sure, to go 2-0 down was horrific for us.

“But I think you must understand that in that moment you have to show great heart and great desire to come back. For me it is not important to win, lose or draw, the most important thing is to always play with great intensity, to fight from the start to the end. We are having a difficult season, we know this, and in this situation you see the man more than the player.”

Chelsea were indeed their own worst enemy in the opening 45 minutes, the conversion rate for their many attempted feints and flicks standing at roughly 0%. Southampton, meanwhile, lacked technical polish and struggled to keep possession, but they were not lacking in heart.

The captain, Bertrand, led by example, putting in a shift up and down the left, and he sprinted half the length of the pitch to set up the opener. Shane Long, meanwhile, harassed Gary Cahill throughout and had Marcos Alonso’s studs raked down a calf for his troubles. Alonso may yet be the subject of retrospective punishment for a challenge that was not spotted at the time by the referee Mike Dean.

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Mark Hughes believes that those who are willing to fight it out provide his best hopes of an unlikely late turnaround in form. The question remains as to how many such characters the Welshman has at his disposal, however.

Hughes acknowledged his team “went under” after conceding the first goal, a brutal thumping header from Giroud that left his marker, Wesley Hoedt, crumpled on the floor. The marking on Hazard for the second suggested Hughes’s interpretation was correct. Giroud completed the comeback with a first-time, left-foot shot after Saints had failed to clear their lines.

“We played really well, I thought, but during that eight-to-10-minute period in the second half we just went under,” Hughes said. “We were unable to clear our heads after the first goal. You know when a quality team like Chelsea are stung more often than not they have a reaction and that’s what Antonio Conte got.”

Last Sunday his team lost 3-2 at Arsenal and Hughes added: “Everyone who’s seen our last two performances would say we deserved something. They were clapped off for the effort at the end today and that’s not happened on too many occasions recently. So there’s recognition of effort but we’ve got to have more than effort. At moments like this you obviously learn more about the group that you have, the guys that I can trust, the ones I can use. Some guys can’t help us, that’s where it is.”